Postgame notes: Lincecum helps Giants to third straight shutout over Dodgers, share of first place

It’s Dan Brown filling in for Alex Pavlovic, who returns Thursday. This is the game story (unedited!) that will appear in tomorrow’s paper, along with some bonus notes:

# # #

Forget the radar gun readings. The important number Wednesday was Tim Lincecum’s heart rate. He pumped his fist after strikeouts, showed his emotions after big defensive plays and barked “Yes, sir!” when Manager Bruce Bochy asked the pitcher if he could work out of a late-inning jam.

He looked, in short, like the fiery Freak of old.

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“I felt like that side of me kind of came back,’’ Lincecum said.

There was plenty for him to be excited about beyond his seven scoreless innings. The Giants beat Los Angeles 3-0 at AT&T Park, capping a three-game sweep – all shutouts – to pull into a tie with the Dodgers atop the National League West. Both teams are 43-33.

It’s the first time the Giants have swept a three-game series with three shutouts since April 1954, when they silenced Philadelphia at the Polo Grounds.

The Giants had never done it to the Dodgers until the three games this week: 8-0 on Monday (behind Barry Zito), 2-0 on Tuesday (behind Ryan Vogelsong) and 3-0 on Wednesday (behind Linecum’s first victory since April 28).

“Remarkable,’’ Bochy said. “ It just got contagious throughout the series.”

The Dodgers haven’t scored since June 24 – a span of 30 consecutive innings. Lincecum was happy to add to those woes after enduring his own stretch of misery. He had gone 10 consecutive starts without a victory as the “What’s Wrong with Timmy?” refrain piled up like questions on a “Jeopardy” board.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner may have found his answer. Including a strong finish to his previous start, against the A’s, Lincecum hasn’t allowed a run over his past 12 innings.

“Timmy was Timmy today,’’ Bochy said.

Accused of a lack of focus over the early months, when he sometimes failed to back up bases, Lincecum was a fireball of intensity Wednesday. And nobody question his willingness to cover the bases after his crash-dummy defensive play in the third inning.

With Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley at third base and Dee Gordon at the plate, Lincecum delivered a pitch so woefully short of home plate that it bounced over catcher Hector Sanchez.

As Billingsley broke for the plate, Sanchez recovered the ball at the backstop and fired the ball back toward home. Lincecum was there to catch it, sliding to his knees and blocking the plate as he slapped the tag on the hard-charging runner.

“I know it kind of fired up Timmy, but that’s not how we teach pitchers to make that play,’’ Bochy said, grinning. “It’s a scary moment when the pitcher is making that play.”

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Lincecum credited Sanchez for the quick reaction on the play. He also said that the swing in fortunes – “an ugly pitch working out to be pretty” – was another sign that he’s moving out of his half-season slump.

Lincecum (3-8) allowed just four hits, with two walks and eight strikeouts. There was also his improved demeanor. In the clubhouse, the Giants kept pointing to the way Lincecum fought to stay in the game with two on and two out in the seventh.

This is how the pitcher recalls the conversation.

Bochy: “You got this?”

Lincecum: “Yeah.”

Bochy: “What?”

Lincecum: “Yes, sir!”

The right-hander promptly retired Tony Gwynn Jr. on a lazy fly ball and got Juan Uribe to swing and miss at his 115th and final pitch of the day.

“That’s the Timmy we know,’’ Bochy said. “He found a way to get through it.”

Lincecum even started the Giants two-run rally with a single in the third. He scored on Melky Cabrera’s run-scoring double. Later that inning, Angel Pagan walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-0. Pagan finished the scoring with a single to drive home Ryan Theriot in the fifth.

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Sanchez made a terrific defensive play on Elian Herrera’s bunt attempt in the fourth. The foul pop drifted toward the backstop, where Sanchez made a sprawling catch as he crashed to the ground. Jerry Hairston Jr. tagged up and advanced on the play, despite a strong throw from Sanchez, who was shaken up on the play.

After the game, the catcher proudly showed off a badly scraped left forearm. “This shows you’re playing hard,’’ Sanchez said.

# # #

Lincecum’s rebound over his past two starts coincides with having Sanchez behind the plate, so expect that battery to continue. Bochy stopped short of saying he wants a personal catcher situation, he acknowledged he is in no rush to break things up.

# # #

Pagan recorded his team-leading 14th steal. The Giants have been successful in 24 of their past 27 attempts.

# # #

The Giants swept Los Angles for the first time since July 30-Aug 1, 2010.

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The last time the Giants were in first place in the National League was Aug. 9, 2011.

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Three consecutive shutouts? The Giants last did that was July 5-8, 1988. They blanked the Cubs for the first two games, then St. Louis for the third.

Daniel Brown

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Has anyone commented that 2 of the 3 RBI’s were Pagan’s. He just seems to find a way.

Breckeroni

BROOOOOMMMS BABBBBAAAAAY

HuffHuffPass

And since nearly all posters here tend to proclaim victory when a suggestion of their own plays out successfully on the baseball field, well, I guess I may as well join in.

I’ve been saying Sanchez should be Timmy’s personal catcher for a while now. I credit him with Zito’s turnaround. Not to take anything away from Buster, but Hector has meant so much to this team already this year.

Nightall, lets keep this up tomorrow. Bedtime BrandI, you have wood to cut tomorrow.

SF Giants Tommy

Is Hector the APW… “Ailing Pitcher Whisperer?

danielb

I certainly hope the use of a personal catcher based on nothing but superstition does not result in yet another roadblock for Belt. Hacker Sanchez has an OBP 70 points lower than Belt, and Belt is a much better defensive first baseman than Posey. Not to mention that Posey is a much better catcher than Sanchez. So Sanchez catching with Belt on the bench degrades every related position.

Fat Panda

I could have sworn they were supposed to lose two out of three, especially with dumb ol’ Bochy staring Zito AND Lincecum in the same series.

What happened to all the predictions?

Bdub

Fat..as per previous post, I predicted a sweep. So there.

Giant fan in Tampa

Hopefully all the haters, whiners, and doomsayers can take a few days off and shut the F.U…. this is a good team, not a great team, but a much better lineup than in 2010.

JD4SF

I just finished watching the rest of the game recorded.

Wow!!! Just WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
3-game SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP of the “never been swept” Dodgers!!!!!!!!
AND all 3 THREE games were shutouts!!!!!!!!!!
YEEEEEEHAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timmy showed up as TIMMY. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Lopez was great, Romo was spot on as closer.
Hector sure got beat up behind the plate, but also made some great plays including nailing the throw back to Timmy for the incredible tag at home.

The TEAM won this game, and won this series.

One game at a time, but … this was against the DODGERS! 8)
Tied for FIRST!!!

As Giants fans we all know how it feels when the offense pulls a no-show. So we can empathize with Dodgers fans bemoaning the utter futility of the boys in blue. Empathize, yes. But sympathize? Hell no, I’m enjoying every second of their pain. Try to imagine the dollars Magic Johnson and company are going to drop attempting to improve that offense…

Fat Panda

danielb: if Hector catching and Posey playing first when Timmy pitches for some reason happens to be a winning combination, isn’t that the most important thing? Or do you place a love of stats and Brandon Belt higher on the priority list than winning ballgames?

Foothills Ryan

Excellent work Dan Brown. Even better than Angels & Demons!

SFPhil

I give all credit to Vogelsong, or as one commenter here called him, the Freak Whisperer.

But seriously, that was a killer outing. He continued where he left off from his last 5 innings. He had some fine stretches of no-score innings in his many losing starts, but even then he never looked dominant. Today he was dominant.

Foothills Ryan

I wonder if the Dodgers will make a move on Quentin. San Diego would be wise to sell high and before he injures himself.

—

Giant fan in Tampa says:
June 27th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

Hopefully all the haters, whiners, and doomsayers can take a few days off and shut the F.U…. this is a good team, not a great team, but a much better lineup than in 2010.

Dear Mr. Keppinger,

Don’t you know the Giants feed on a steady diet of doubt and negativity. It is a good team. Great chemistry. Call them mediocre and they rise out of those ashes as a new fangled Phoenix and stake their claim to first in the division. May they never look back.

High and tight

Agree whole heartedly with #4.
Hector, Hector, Hector.
He should catch at least the next two or three Timmy starts.

jerseygiant

First shutout sweep of LA in Giant history. First perfect game pitched in Giant history.
Tied for first in west. Everything starts anew tomorrow against the Reds. Welcome back, Timmy! Now, bring it that way now every 5th day. Go, Giants!

Foothills Ryan

Going forward,

the Giants can do better than Pagan’s .279 wOBA in June in the 5 hole (coming into today’s game)

Stick him in the magic 2-hole and see if that does anything for him.

—

Entering today’s action, Blanco had a .294 wOBA in June, but just a .282 OBP in the month of June.

—

Granted Pagan had some injury hampering his swing, but Blanco may be fatiguing from the grind. Bochy needs to rest these guys. Giants need to keep their options open. Is Schierholtz an option to get hot? I suppose, but won’t count on it. Christian is a dark horse. Keep an eye on Francisco Peguero. He’s heating up in Fresno and has the toolz to play in the bigs. He doesn’t walk much, but neither does Hector Sanchez, and everyone loves him.

-Gary Brown has an 11 game hitting streak as he has collected a hit and a walk in each of the previous 2 games (take that Dinero).

http://www.gravatar.com mccoveycovedave

The Dodgers looked out of gas. I think unless they get some help, they may fade. I am excited about the Giants match up with the REDS and I think we have a great 4 game series to look forward to. I plan to make the three last games in the Cove. Here’s to the new Tim Lincecum! YAY!!!

HuffHuffPass

If it’s a coincidence or an achieved superstition that gets Timmy to throw better to Hector then so be it! And at the expense of Belt? Fine.

It allows Posey more time to rest that ankle and we get a fresher Buster in the playoffs. And a fresher Belt.

I’ll subscribe to the Hector/Timmy superstition.

JD4SF

mccoveycovedave – Hope our boys send you some Splash Hits to fish out of the water!

Stop being delusional

Hector Sanchez has nothing to do with Lincecum’s improved mechanics. His inability to block pitches or reach base certainly doesn’t help matters, though. Let’s hope that Bochy comes to his senses and has Posey catch Lincecum next week.

Yes, danielb

danielb be willing to learn.

Yes, danielb

Who are these idiots complaining about Backup players playing and the Gigantes just swept the LAD on 3 shut outs!! And now in 1st place. Your Garbage!!

Gamertude

Can’t ask for a better series, love that the Giants were able to expose the horrid excuse for a lineup the Dodgers throw out there…and now Ethier wille be joining Kemp on the DL.

Hector is a fantastic backup catcher, but that’s what he is, not a pitcher whisperer. If he’s going to catch Lincecum regularly now then Posey needs to start catching Zito some. Our lineup is finally looking deep and our best lineup doest not include Hector Sanchez in it.

Stewie

Posey gets beat up when he catches Timmy. If Buster catches Lincecum regularly, then we may re-injure him or totally wear him down to where he is a shadow of himself by September.

SurfCity

Dan – thanks for the early story with all the extras – shades of Extra Baggs.

Very nice sweep of the Dodgers, who are imploding.

Still think it could be a 3-team race in the West, though Arizona is back at 500.

Apeachofahand

Congratulations team Giants!

Sweet to have Timmy back in groove.

Not to mention the fine work by our back up closer who may be the best late inning 2nd man in the majors.

Jstreet

The results speak loudly. More loudly the the delusional nitpickers who spout their false expertise here. Imagine, gaining 7.5 games in one month. Good work, team.

Richard Hinds

Richard Hinds says:
June 27th, 2012 at 10:50 am 20..Let’s hope Timmy was inspired to pore it on today after Zeets and Vogie’s work. I’m calling Giants 4 -2 and 10ks for Tim.

I WAS SO WRONG. IN A GOOD WAY

JC

Pitching wins championships and we got the pitching and our 4th ace back in Timmy.

Richard Hinds

Richard Hinds says:
June 26th, 2012 at 5:37 pm 82..Tonight:
We will see Vogie pitch to a new level.

Giants win 4 to 2.

Pablo has the big shot.

Being ” slightly clairvoyant ”

I feel the power.

My point is, positive thinking works.

Heads in ass’s produces what ever

Richard Hinds

Richard Hinds says:
June 25th, 2012 at 6:04 pm 1..Good Barry;
appears tonight and goes till Middle of the 7th. Gives up 3 runs.
Come on Barry, just do it. Get mad like Tim and just do it.

Feel free to call me Pollyanna.

Lefty

What do you all think of Romo closing maybe every third save opportunity? Keep Casilla fresh and not too much pressure on him. I get it that Romo’s not physically capable of being the full-time closer–but he’s GOOD.

Whether or not Hector has anything to do with it, if Lincecum believes that Sanchez is the reason, then for now, leave it alone. Don’t mess with something that works.

Obrother

Lefty- love Romo. I noticed him with a slight limp walking back to mound after one of his pitches. The guys a gamer and you know his knees are still cranky but think the only way they’ll get him out of a game is on a stretcher. I read somewhere that Casilla loves the pressure of closing. The dodgers got pressure cooked the whole series and I’m loving it. Nice to see all the negative posters take a hike last few days. Very refreshing. You, foothills, channelclemente, JD, Dinero and many more always take the high road when talking about OUR Giants but the negative posters ( especially before a game starts are a drag. Favorite quote today from Giants Fan in Tampa ” Shut the FU.”. I’ve said before these guys are a contender and they all have each others backs and are in the hunt. Sorry if I didn’t name some of the great posters on blog but you guys and gals rock and I love reading your posts. Go Giants.

avwh

It was funny to hear the KNBR post game guys say how the PacBell crowd was tense & quiet when Timmy walked Ethier in the first inning. And how he got all kinds of crowd support and standing ovations every time he did anything positive over his 7 innings.

Sorta puts the lie to Timmy’s dad’s ill-advised comments.

123 seasons against the Duckin’ Fodgers – and history was made in this series: 3 shutouts back-to-back-to-back. Billingsley was the only LA hitter to reach 3B in the series. And we thought our offense was, uh, offensive last year!

The Tickle Monster

uh huh

2holehitting

Nice game excellent pitching. They made the pitches when they had to.
Hitting was timely, they did not waste to many opportunities.

The order is streching now and looking like they hoped.

You have a leadoff hitter that steals bags though not as hot as has been but reasonable since he swipes bags and scores.

Your 2Hole makes good contact hitting 270 and swiping bags, he has solidified second after being crucified by some on this board

The 3rd hitter is just clubbing the ball all over.

You have 3/4/5/6 hitters at 300+ and a 7th that has been hitting at 300+ as of late.

This is a solid 1-7 order, and if the 8 spot can have some more days like today….

They have 5 300 hitters right now and a tough lineup for any pitcher.

Most of the games they are getting around 8 to 10 hits.

Top it off, they are working counts while maybe not walking they are taking pitches and runnin up the pitch counts.

Good things happen when you hit the ball instead of swinging and missing

Obrother

Saw Zeets game, watched Vogey and Timmy on TV and the one thing that struck me is the team as a whole is making spectacular plays backing up the pitchers. Yea they play as a team but lately getting the job done as a team. Timmy’s throw in front of plate today and Hector made a great play. Pagan yesterday hitting to get lead runner out and running thru Flans stop sign to score. List goes on. It’s exciting.

Foothills Ryan

Jstreet says:
June 27th, 2012 at 7:24 pm

The results speak loudly. More loudly the the delusional nitpickers who spout their false expertise here. Imagine, gaining 7.5 games in one month. Good work, team.

—

I totally agree, but I’m wondering if I qualify as a ‘delusional nitpicker’. That’s okay if I do. I’m alright with that. I subscribe to the Stuart Smalley school of Self-Help.

E-B

great win!
Timmy compleeeeets the sweeeeeeep!

———————–

omg, so glad for his call to Dr.Chris a week ago Tues,
where they (reportedly) eventually talked shop.

seems like really really really good things happen after that…
timmy is timmy,
zito spins a shutout after 3-game slump.

also, vogey’s work w/ timmy in oakland series–game changer.

luv how hector’s working w/ timmy.

————————

dgg

Thanks, Dan. I read both your stories before I left work. Really like your vivid, detailed description of Tim’s demeanor and reactions in this game. That’s what I most wanted to know about. (What you wrote made me want to watch the game even more.) Thanks for finding out about the exchange between Bochy and Lincecum on the mound. That says a lot about Tim’s determination and confidence today. He’s starting to sound like the pitcher who famously yelled, “You stay right there!” at the runner on third base in the 2010 NLCS.

By now, I’ve read a lot of write-ups about this game. None match yours.

Foothills Ryan

Obrother says:
June 27th, 2012 at 8:08 pm

—

Thank you for the applause. I’m not sure if I deserve to be mentioned in that esteemed circle. I’m not grossly negative, but I can lean towards cynical. One of my catch phrases is ” the Giants feed off a little bit of doubt and negativity”. I’m just as guilty as the next Negative Nancy and shame on me.

Cheers

Lefty

I love Romo, too. Couldn’t believe a couple of weeks ago when Casilla was out and Romo hurt his “good” knee warming up and then went out and GOT A SAVE with braces on BOTH knees. Gamer, gamer, gamer. Also saw a video online today of Romo grabbing a mike and “interviewing” Buster Posey. He asked something like “How are you going to beat the Reds?” Buster, straight face: “We’re going to need some good innings from you out of the bullpen.”

Casilla’s doing a fine job. Nothing against him. I just love me some Romo and want to see him in there as much as possible.

Any of you catch the moment on Comcast today when Melky hit the RBI double? Brian Wilson was in the booth, and Kuiper was fumbling a bit on the call because Abreu tried to “deke” that he’d caught the ball. As Kuip fumbled, Wilson busted in: “No, he trapped it! He trapped it! Yes! That’s what I like to see, Five-Three.” They show inside the booth. Kuiper is writing and not looking at the camera. Krukow is trying not to laugh. Wilson is a bit sheepish about his excitement.

You can see it on sfgiants.com if you look at the highlight called “Melky’s RBI double.”

Samuel

2holehitting: Foothills isn’t gonna be happy when he sees your name…

Lefty

dgg: I missed watching the game live, too, and I came home and happily watched every pitch Timmy threw. It was just soooo nice to see our Freak BACK. Totally fired up and into it.

SuperDuper

@39, if your talking about me I did post an answer…

Foothills Ryan

Lefty says:
June 27th, 2012 at 7:41 pm

What do you all think of Romo closing maybe every third save opportunity? Keep Casilla fresh and not too much pressure on him. I get it that Romo’s not physically capable of being the full-time closer–but he’s GOOD.

—

Heck yeah!

I still think the Giants need a little bullpen help. I was able to get on Marty Lurie’s Sunday postgame and talk a little about bullpen help. I brought up Luke Gregerson. Primarily because Bochy knows him. And because he’ll come cheap. You won’t be buying high on him and you could be buying low. If Romo and his nastiness were to operate in critical situations in the 8th (games often need saving in the 8th!) or the ninth when Casilla gets the night off, Gregerson is a guy with a resume who could get big outs with in the 6th , 7th and sometimes 8th. Keep an eye on him and his lines in SD.

When I brought this name up , Marty immediately went to Huston Street. Great idea, but at what cost? Probably Heath Hembree cost. It would be an admission that Casilla isn’t going to cut it. Could happen, but I still like my low cost option.

I’m sure there are other budget bullpen fixes out there as well. Maybe Kontos will be The Man.

E-B

hey @dgg — shout out to ya!

also, i’m w/ u on dan’s XLNT work, esp. how he paints the people scene for those of us who often miss day games.

heading off to watch on dvr.

enjoy every pitch!

——————
over and out

E-B

p.s. @lefty. re: romo close some (not all) games.

yes, IF i thought his elbow & knee could withstand the grind.
but, honestly, i don’t think he has the endurance.
wish he did, cuz he’s added a pitch this year, so 3 ways to punch-em-out.

Foothills Ryan

Samuel says:
June 27th, 2012 at 8:25 pm

2holehitting: Foothills isn’t gonna be happy when he sees your name…

—

Samuel,

I am reasonably well acquainted with Mr. 2hole. We go back. He’s alright from my end.

Lefty

avwh: I don’t know why Chris Lincecum said that stuff. The fans LOVE Timmy. I have never heard any crowd ever come close to turning on him. My theory is Chris listens to KNBR online and hears Radnich being his usual charming self and maybe some idiot callers and he overgeneralizes and thinks everyone feels that way. How about a little objective critical thinking? And maybe a filter on what you said to reporters of national newspapers?

The AT & T Park crowd has even been giving Zito the love this year, and I’m proud of them!

ClutchUp

Henry just cleared up the Chris Lincecum issue, saying Chris is a friend of mind but it was Nightingales interlude question of “Hey Chris what if the Giants send Tim to the Minors to straighten himself out…”

Whoosh the fuse was lit and their was no length to the fuse.

All better now. Nimrods come in all shapes and sizes. Some are parents, some are Extra Giant Posters, Some are reporters and sports talk radio hosts (Byrnes, Kozimor, Henry Wolford, Jim Lampley), some are Managers (Ozzie and Jim Frey) and some are fans sitting in the seats yelling at LA fans to go home even though the family is with their 7 and 8 year old children ….

Nightingale —- Good writer but he was the arsonist.

Lefty

Foothills: I agree, one more bullpen piece. Just one. And I think Gregerson is a terrific idea for all the reasons you said. I’ll add another: Bochy, Righetti, and Gardner seem to be superb at taking veteran relievers and mixing and matching them effectively. Look at how well they mixed in Lopez, Ramirez, and Mota in 2010-11. Used them just right. Ramirez hasn’t been nearly as good since leaving the Giants, and Lopez was never this good before the Giants. They seem to maximize the potential of those pieces. And as you noted, this was a skill Bochy honed in San Diego, where he always seemed to have a terrific bullpen.

Gregerson has thrived in that kind of system where he has a role and knows it. Since Adams was traded and Bell jumped ship, it’s not the same situation.

Huston Street WOULD be a nice add, but I agree he’d be expensive, and isn’t he pretty injury-prone, too?

Lefty

Clutch: I have a lot of sympathy for Chris. I’m a Mama Bear. Mess with my kids, and you mess with me. I totally get it. Luckily, reporters aren’t sticking a microphone in my face to ask about them. It’s really, really hard to watch your kid struggling. It doesn’t matter how old the kid is (or how rich and famous).

I was talking to my mom today about this. I asked her, “When does this parenting thing become not so hard?” She laughed and said, “I’m 70 and my youngest child is 40, and that moment hasn’t come yet.”

And there you have it.

ClutchUp

Romo’s close job was right out of a video game, but LA had slumped shoulders and Serge made small au graten potatoes (or is it PoTOToe).

Romo can close, but then Casillas assumes what role. I say they already have these big flash cards size 72 font that the skipper has located in the dugout, and he just keeps turning one over until the game ends. Sometimes its a W and sometimes its an L, but the schemes that Bochy-Wo-Flann-Roberto-Bam-Bam and Bill Hayes never vary too much.

Behind each “flash card” for each game are subsets for each inning and for each player.

We have not reached the flash card yet where we see Pablo leaving third base, rushing into the dugout, and getting his catching gear on all the time stretching out his formidable hamstrings and thighs. But stay tuned = it happened to Petey Feliz

ClutchUp

843 Lefty, I understand but IF I were Chris Linceum the ONLY interviews I would EVER do from here on out is in person where he and the interviewer can see each others eyes, facial expressions and really gleen their voice inflections to see what the question really meant. I know a local Bay Area guy who things Nightingale is at the top of his game BUT in hindsight I think he stirred a pot that did not need stirring.

Now that Chris is no longer attached to Boeing he has a lot of free time. If I were him I would never read one blog, especially this one about his son. Same with Aubrey’s mom, and his wife and kids. There are hundreds of ways to say player A or player B is done, struggling or not contributing. People here that bring UP the money aspect have got to let go. None of the Giants including Lincecum, Zito, Burriss or last week Edlefson were EVER trying to have sucky games. Players have families all up and down the food chain.

SuperDuper

All right, I want to try something after the last ten days of amazing Giants baseball…

Win/loss predictions.

Next ten games before the AS break.

4 with the Reds
3 with the Nats
3 with the P’rats

And..

First 9 games back after the break.

3 with the Astros
3 with the Braves
3 with the Phils

And…

Full season predictions.

If we take our average we are in line for a 92 game winning season.

ClutchUp

Buster will return to catching 55.

DesertGiantFan

Nice work Dan! Great effort by Lincecum. What? No props for Crawford.
Three hits including a triple. Way to go Brandon. Now, lets go after Dusty’s crew.

http://yahoo mario

Didn’t get to watch the game today on TV but i did listen on the radio, Miller & Flem Flam are great as usual. Love the visual pitcher they portray.

Lefty

This is a happy day. I feel like making a list called “Things about the Giants that make me smile when I think about them.” Here’s a few:

1. Vogey
2. Romo
3. The Dynamic Catching Duo: Buster & Hector!

Lots more. Feel free to add on!

http://yahoo mario

#68 Post should of spelled picture.

G-ManFaninCan

WOW! 1st! Tim looked like he had the old fire back… Maybe once you win the WS it’s hard ro recapture..need something on the line… Boy did the pitching expose the Dogers thin line-up. 27 shutout innings… damn it feels great to be a g-manfan today!

Sam

Giant fan in Tampa says:
June 27th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Hopefully all the haters, whiners, and doomsayers can take a few days off and shut the F.U…. this is a good team, not a great team, but a much better lineup than in 2010.
———————
A much better lineup than 2010. Really, which games are you watching? In three of the last 4 games, they failed to score 4 runs. They are the third worst team batting with RISP.

Kevin

Pardon my French, but WTF happened to this “blog”? If I wanted to read tomorrow’s newspaper story, I’d go bald with all the other senior citizens that actually read the paper nowadays. A blog is supposed to have opinions, not a recap of the game. RIP Andrew Baggerly. Can you really blame him and Maiocco for jumping ship? Absolutely pathetic!

Matthew

Mario – I need a visual pitcher of margarita’s as I listen to the replay of their visual pictures

The results speak loudly. More loudly the the delusional nitpickers who spout their false expertise here. Imagine, gaining 7.5 games in one month. Good work, team.

—

I totally agree, but I’m wondering if I qualify as a ‘delusional nitpicker’. That’s okay if I do. I’m alright with that. I subscribe to the Stuart Smalley school of Self-Help.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Foothills, you might be a delusional nitpicker, but you would never be accused (by me) of spouting false expertise. I value your passionate and informed take on all things baseball, and I know most here would agree. And, goshdarnit, people like you.

I like the first one but, any of these would do. I’ve always liked a guy like Theriot batting 2, but that’s just to extend the lineup, or bunts, hit and runs…we have 6 guys that can hit better than Theriot, we should be getting one of them the extra AB. Also, our platoon at short (Craw .250 vs RHP, Arias .300 vs LHP) gives us a solid lineup top to bottom.

Melkbone Underwear

sorry, those were split better on my original version

Bochy’s Thunderskull

Memo to KNBR:

I’ll never buy a car from the Del Grande Dealer Group as long as you keep playing those ear-splitting radio ads.

Sam

ClutchUp says:
June 27th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
People here that bring UP the money aspect have got to let go
————————–

Unless they stop charging for tickets, parking, and concessions, the amount of money a player makes will be brought up. The amount of ripping a player gets is related to the amount of money they make. If Zito was making Edelfson money and Huff was making Belt money, the outrage and hatred would be less.

Lefty

Thunderskull: LOL. I find myself getting a little hostile toward 1-877-KARS4KIDS. Coin toss for me whether I hate the old version more or the screechy new hip version with the electric guitars.

dgg

Lefty & E-B,

Hello back! I’m finally ready to watch the game. Mowed the lawn. Walked my dog. Threw a load of laundry in the wash. I’m going to be up way too late!

Bochy’s Thunderskull

Lefty,

KARS4KIDS nearly causes me to go into a seizure. Is there a worse radio ad in the history of history?

Sam

Remember the time when Matt Cain was clamoring for a personal catcher.
Yeah, me neither.

SuperDuper

@81

How about not charging $10 for a thimble of beer…

Foothills Ryan

You guys are the best. No matter what Kevin says.

Kevin, here’s an opinion: you may not think so, but IMHO, your poop stinks.

Happy?

Seriously, who had Montezuma’s revenge in your Cheerios. There’s plenty of opinion in the comments section. A couple weeks ago, Gary Brown was a bust, Timmy was done, Belt was going to AAA. Now where we at?

I was of the opinion that the team was a ‘just above .500 team’. Now, in light of a Dodgers collapse and a Hudson-less DBacks, the Giants may roll.

SuperDuper

KARS4-TONEDEAF-KIDS

Am I to believe that there are no kids who can sing properly in the whole bay area?

Use auto-tune technology for crying out loud. I’d go out of my way to find another charity because of that ad.

Does KNBR get a tax break by running those ads or something?

“If you’re in marketing, kill yourself.” -Bill Hicks R.I.P.

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

*sam@919 the *2012 LU is a better LU than 2010.

Nate’sFanMom

The best part of having LA being in 1st place all this time was watching the Giants catch them, humilate them actually.

Back to back to back shut-outs: Pay back for those miserable years in the late 70′s when we had to endure Ron Cey’s leering contempt of us Giants fans.

Now I hope the Giants don’t get the Cincinnati curse. Seems like every time our boys play the Reds, they get snake bit.

SuperDuper

Footy…

Guess what our average was when we went into the playoffs in 2010?

Ok, i’ll tell.

The exact same one we have right now!!!

.566

Good for 92 wins in a season!

I’d like to be overly optimistic about the Giants future but in the last seven/eight years where I have been seriously following these guys the climb out of the AS break is always tough. Even more so when they roll into it doing well. The positive part of it is they get on a roll again at the end of the year. I think we will see the Bums rise again for a little while, the fight for first ain’t over yet!

Would love to see Romo closing more games. Last time I suggested this I was chastised, for Romo “doesn’t have closer stuff.”

Assuming that refers to 99MPH heater. Perhaps the slider is stressful on his arm. I would understand that point of view, but to counter that would be to say he is our best relief pitcher and has been for some time.

Although I do prefer the best reliever to pitch when needed. Not to be used strictly as a “closer.” The most overrated/overvalued position in baseball.

Brown

Sanchez proudly showing off a raspberry is all you need to know about these guys. Young, athletic, fast and hungry. I would still like too see them consistently beat good teams, but this is a team on the rise and a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

Lefty

Hector’s pop-up catch made the #2 Web Gem on ESPN. #1 was Trout’s insane homer-robbing catch of J.J. Hardy’s ball in Baltimore. The ESPN guys called Hector’s catch “the best play by a catcher this season.”

Hector is a gamer AND he seems to be a sweet, good-natured kid. Happy Tweets with no punctuation. His interview with Jaymee Sire was pretty good on the postgame. He actually speaks English better than Pablo did at his age. Whereas Pablo’s favorite word was (and still is) “excited,” Hector’s seems to be “amazing.”

Gmen

Timmy is back , I mean literally back. The pitchers that was struggling for the last two months was not Tim Lincecum, it was Shawn White impersonating as Tim Lincecum. Today the real Tim Lincecum showed up just in time to face the hated Dodgers.

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

Kevin@920 I don’t miss Baggarly at all. The 3 guys we have now filled in when Andy did his book crusade. Then he broke the once private Huff thong item, the went gaga over Huffs divorce filing. He has his moments but last yr he was LATE for a post game press conference – doors were closed/locked and he hissy-fitted at security. “Do you know how I am”? Sorry but Pavs – Stew and Brownie are thw best and collectively have passes him by…

The Oracle

The idea that Lincecum’s performance somehow has something major to do with Sanchez is ridiculous. His problem has obviously been not being able to put pitches where he wants them. Today he did. When he can do that, he’s great no matter who’s catching. Also, I think I might be able to remember one or two priors occasions where he was fairly successful with Posey behind the plate. Sanchez is both capable and valuable, but Lincecum’s struggles and successes are on him.

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

Andres Torres may have had the best repetitive memorized expressions. “I blessed” and so on. He was a very good giant.

Brown

In 2010 we had a game, I think against Cinci when we came from 10 runs down to tie. Even though we lost that one, I remember seeing the fight and the gelling of a team. The comeback against the A’s had the same feeling and i think this team will be a contender.

Obrother

Foothills- your not a nitpicker and your opinions aren’t negative. I value your baseball expertise. Keep up the good blogs. Thanks

Lefty

Clutch: The best Torres expressions were (and I assume still are):

–”It’s a bless”
–”Thanks God”
–”Be honest you”

And my favorite:

“Please excuse me my English!”

I thought these were charming–not mocking him at all. He was a GREAT Giant, and I still miss him. I wish he could be the 26th guy in the dugout just to make everyone happy.

Gooser

Sam this is a better lineup than 2010. Don’t you remember why Kuip started calling it torture? A ton of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 type games. He would call for the “ground attack.” When we would get a swinging bunt, chopper with eyes, wild pitch, and a rbi groundout. That would be about all we would get and all we would need. This years lineup may not have as much power as 2010 but to me is miles ahead overall. Don’t forget about the speed on the bases we have now.

Our defense is also better. Yes we have a lot of errors but that seems to be slowing down. Our coverage in the outfield is outstanding, and the infield range is pretty darned good. This team is a better team than 2010 with two major exceptions. Timmy then vs. now, and not having Wilson. Casilla has been a nice replacement for Wilson, but we don’t have a replacement for Casilla’s former role yet. If Tim can return to the form he showed today then we will win the west. Even if he continues to struggle i like our chances barring injury.

Bmad

I know this would cause all sorts of shakeups, but I’m all for the “closer by committee.” Granted, he was facing a bad lineup, but Romo was just sick in the ninth inning today.

Gooser

Oh I forgot about Mota in 2010. He was valuable out of the pen in long relief. We don’t have that either. Maybe Penny can fill that role. But right now we don’t need it they way the starters are throwing.

Dirty Al

#98 Oracle.

Thanks for saying that. While Sanchez has his moments and has been valuable in his role, it is obvious who the better catcher is – and the one who should be in there the majority of the time.

Certainly a case can be made for Posey getting more time off, and catching Lincecum IS tougher on the body. It’s nice to have a good replacement. But I don’t buy the idea that Lincecum is any more effective with Hector, either.

Buster throws better, is more polished, and calls a great game. Just ask Cain. Or Bumgarner.

Lefty

2010 lineup (starting in July when Buster took over at catcher) vs. 2012:

Bullpen: Wilson was great in 2010. Affeldt was not very good and injured part of the year. Romo wasn’t nearly as dominant or reliable as he is now. Casilla was unknown and kind of wild. We didn’t have Lopez or Ramirez until the end of July. Runzler was unreliable and then injured. Even without Wilson and still needing another piece, I think the 2012 bullpen is deeper and more solid.

Footy

At least these guys try English. Some quite capable. Melky has been in the league how long and he still needs a translator? Some guys just don’t do second languages. But man, he can hit.

Footy

who did Bumgarner bounce from the 2010 rotation?

had Lincecum , Cain, Sanchez, Zito, ???

Footy

Better team right now than 2010. Posey is better, Sandoval is better, the defense is better, the outfield is better, better speed, Cain is better, Bumgarner is better, Vogelsong > Sanchez …

Footy

2010 = lightning in bottle, don’t forget it

Mike

I also have my concerns catching Timmy could wear Posey down offensively. Let Hector Use up most of his energy behind plate with Timmy.

Footy

So Todd Wellemeyer is the answer to my question, right? Was he DFA’d ?

Samuel

From Wikipedia: “Until his injury on June 10, 2010, Wellemeyer struggled through nine starts posting a 3-5 record with an ERA of 5.52. The injury opened the door for Madison Bumgarner. Wellemeyer pitched his final game with the Giants on August 8 against the Braves. He was unable to record an out giving up four base hits and one earned run. That spelled the end for Wellemeyer and the Giants released him into free agency.”

Nipper

BRAVO!

Walter Guest

Penny threw two shutout innings for Fresno today but gave up two hits and walk.

Dominguez hit his first AAA homer coming after 100 at-bats. He also has one (1) walk. Ugh.

Walter Guest

That’s for the season, not the game.

http://mercurynews.com antispy3

Wow; starting to resemble an Oakland Raiders blog here. . .hate to see what transpires in September when the Giants (the odds on favorite), Dodgers (if they can procure another bat. Hopefully NOT Carlos Quinten) & Snakes barrel down the homestretch for the finish line.

While playing the game intensity is required. But one cannot carry over the failures of past contests into the next day. Of course making adjustments is key (Zito remembering he can’t afford to be aggressive in the strike zone, the Geek needs to take an intensity page from Vogey’s playbook, Belt making adjustments in his swing & not overall AB approach, Panda needs to not swing @ the just out of the strike zone fastball, Sanchez IS NOT the pitcher whisperer but a good complimentary piece, etc…).

Baseball is a streaky game. For, say, a 10 game stretch a batter is seeing the ball like Ted Williams. Then the pitchers adjust to his approach & the ball looks tinier again; batters figure out a pitcher’s approach (unless he’s Greg Maddux, Cainer or the hated Clay Kershaw)) & adjust accordingly. . .

Consistency is the key. And, remember, team wise the game is played in 10 game increments.

Also, lefty, i’ve met Chris Lincecum on a few different occasions. I worked within 30 yards of him on a given day. He is known to hit the sauce. Therefore, that may explain the veracity of some of his comments. . .and he is a father. . .wonder how he was when little Timmy was a little leaguer. . .have to do some research on that. . .

And, finally; the Dodgers lineup is scarcely the same without Matt Kemp in it. Now that Ethier is hurt AGAIN let’s see what transpires. . .I’ve told all the Dodgers faithful I encounter all along that they’ve only been RENTING first place; that location BELONGS to the Giants. . .

As always, & hopefully everyone whom participates on this blog realizes this, it’s all about the Giants. . .Go Giants. . .to a victory over the Yanks or Rangers in the 2012 World Series (a little ahead of myself; I didn’t proclaim them the future WS champ in 2010 until August 20th)!

http://mercurynews.com antispy3

Reds, especially over a four game series will be a handful. Truer measure of the Giants pitching staff will be facing a good hitting team. Joey Votto is to hitting what Matt Cain is to pitching. . .

Walter Guest

I wish the Giants would do something about the Richmond ballpark. It is so skewed towards pitching it’s hard to evaluate what we have there; speaking as a numbers guy. How much would it take to make it league average? I wouldn’t think too much. Of course the Giant management does not put much reliance on numbers, which is why they always rate so low in the Fangraphs poll.

Brown is doing better there than his numbers would indicate. His walk rate is near 6% which is better than the 2 or 3 percent he had in college. He’s hitting 261 on a team that’s only hitting 242 and he’s only 23 when the league average is around 24.5.

On the other hand, if he were going to be a star, he’d be in the majors now or closer to it. And he’s been caught stealing 12 times in 33 tries which is not good.

goodsam72

antispy3 – exactly so re: this year’s version of the big red machine…..as a cincy ex-pat who still follows her old team I can say I’m really looking forward to this. the Gs pitchin’ against the reds hittin’ – should make for a great 4 games especially since the reds are not the same blow it out of the park team when they aren’t in “new riverfront”. It will really be just great to see what votto – bruce – phillips et al can do against bum, cain, vogie and if zeets can dazzle ‘em with that big zen-like curve of his.

they won’t sweep the reds – i’m thinking of a split more likely ????

Atlas

GREAT SERIES. That said, nothing matters but winning games and keeping people healthy. Theres a long way to go and we need to create some space. Go giants!!! Arias, Bcraw, Belt, Sanchez… are you kidding!? Awesome.

JD4SF

Good thing the Giants are on a roll. Hope they keep the intensity and momentum because the Reds will not be pushovers. They are 1st in their division.

However, they are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and we are 6-4. We’re also coming off a 3-game win streak and they’re coming off a loss. We also have home park advantage, 24-14 at home while Reds are 18-17 on the road.

I’m seeing a tough series, with the Giants taking the series from the Reds with strong pitching, solid D and good O. I also think we’re due for some Giants Splash Hits or at least some long bombs. 8)

Dodgers are down, but not out, and AZ is 5 games back. We’ve had a good run the past month to go from 7.5 games out to tie for first, and remember that was *despite* the Timmy and Zito struggles. Worth noting!

This is a solid TEAM now, with a lot of talent. If Zito keeps us in the games and Timmy shows us more Timmy, we continue the march to the post season, one game at a time.

We start by taking the series against the Reds! 8)

Walter Guest

On the other hand there’s Shawn Payne, a 22-year-old with 430 PA’s in his pro career at A and low A. This guy is 45-6 in steals (24-0 this year). He’s a 300 hitter with a 410 OBP because he walks 13.5% of the time.

A big red flag though is that the Giants have him playing LF when all the numbers cry out CF. If he can’t play center field we probably have another Fred Lewis. I doubt if he’ll hit enough to play a corner.

Just wanna say that I met Mike Krukow today. He was walking up Geary with his wife, I stopped and said hello.

It was awesome. We shook hands and I noticed the World Series ring. We talked for 5 seconds, then they started to leave, but not before Kruk initiated a fist pound.

I pounded it out with Mike Krukow, World Series ring and all.

Great day today. Attababe!

Woj

I really like No Dot Romo. That guy is absolutely nails. He’s articulate, complimentary towards his teammates, fantastic control, good attitude. He is nearly my favorite Giant on the 2012 team. Bochy should make him closer – that slider is Eckersley good and his control reminds me of Hall of Famer Eck.

1st place!

Agreed on Baggs, he was definitely feelin himself a little too much and you could sense it in his holier than thou posts toward the end. I enjoyed ap and db’s posts during the 2010 just as much and it came with no ego. Baggs isnt even a giants fan. Ap and db are.

And of course our lineup is better this year, those games before the playoff run were really hard to watch in 2010.

Glad to see a lot less expert suggestions on here, that’s what a shutout sweep will do for you.

totalfan62

Lefty says: June 27th, 2012 at 9:10 pm

“Things about the Giants that make me smile when I think about them.”

1. Vogey
2. Romo
3. The Dynamic Catching Duo: Buster & Hector!

Lots more. Feel free to add on!
———————————————————————-
4. Cain and MadBum. Southern Strength
5. Buster Posey. Along w/Cain, the cornerstones of our team
(yeah, it’s half a repeat, but a good one!)
6. Best OF in the NL, The Three Amigos

slim pickens

thank you brad penny for motivating zito. and an unthank you for ceasear leaving in santiago casillo the last game in oakland. the dodgers suck. big deal! beat dusty and the rednecks.

2holehitting

Lefty says:
June 27th, 2012 at 8:43 pm

I have a lot of sympathy for Chris. I’m a Mama Bear. Mess with my kids, and you mess with me.

============================================

If that were all Timmies dad said. Remember in the off season the comments he made regarding to paraphrase, why would anyone want to pitch for the Giants with the hitting they do. Indicating that the Giants bats suck and Tim might go elsewhere when allowed.

I think dad has the big city lights in line for Tim where he will get all the National media attention is. I do not expect Tim to be around by the all star break of 2013 if not the start of the season if Dad has his way.

Lefty

Antispy & 2hole: There is no doubt Chris Lincecum said more than he should have, and I wondered about “the sauce,” too. I was just saying that no matter who you are, it’s hard to watch your kid struggle.

Re Baggs: I still read everything he writes for CSN, and he’s still a good writer. I thought he hit the ball out of the park with a piece right before Opening Day on Crawford and Royce Clayton. He had an interesting one yesterday on the Hector/Buster/Timmy…is it a “dilemma” now? Not sure how to characterize… Anyway, I really like his stories that give inside looks at individual players, especially ones like Crawford that you don’t hear about everyday.

His blog on CSN still gets little commenting traffic, and I wonder sometimes how he feels about that compared to this one, which HE started. And I really, really like Alex. I think he does a great job and seems to have real enthusiasm for it, too. It’s refreshing.

Footy

Great nocturnal posts by the night owls (emissions?).

Walter, doesn’t Augusta have Jesus Galindo playing CF? Those hitters are forever away. Page me when they get to AA. If a guy can hit in AA, you know he’s got something. Belt took care of business (OPS>1000 ~200 PA). Sandoval and Posey skipped the whole thing. Peguero had a .750ish OPS in AA. I don’t even know what my point is…

Perhaps the deep yard helps build their young pitchers confidence and the don’t see it as broke. If their hitters are trying to yank out of a small yard, that can’t be good. Teach ‘em to hit line drives. Let em learn how to back spin a ball out later.

I think I came around to a dull point.

Footy

RE: Baggs

I don’t think I’d want to have a beer with Baggs. Where I’d probably buy a beer for Alex or Carl , or perhaps a pitcher for all three of us.

Baggs would probably smell of Zest soap and have dry skin. I’m sure he’s alright, but that’s just my impression. He’s a good clever writer and it sounds like he’s good at Jeopardy. And he’ll remind you of that as well.

Footy

Ahhhh yes,

The Reds come to town. Aren’t we talking them up? Which is fine. Build them up, tear them down.

Giants are 2 games up on the Reds in overall record. Cincinnati WKRP has outscored their opponents 321-287. The Giants have plated 306-291. Outside of Joey Votto, the Reds are not that scary. But it’s hard to ignore what Votto is doing. He has 32 doubles already to go with 14 HRs. He has walked 60 times and K’d 60. The OPS is over 1.100. The #’s are even better in the month of June.

Don’t let Votto beat you. Make Phillips or Bruce beat you and they can be pitched to. I think I like the Giants lineup better. Nothing compares to Votto, but outside of him, I like our bats better at most other positions. If the Giants played in their home yard, they would have scored more runs. I am impressed that the Reds pitching staff has yielded fewer runs than the Giants though. Should be a good series, but I like the Giants chances of going 3-1.

dgg

Foothills,

Not that you asked, and it’s up to you of course, but I like the Foothills handle better than Footy. It helps that I know where Footy comes from, but newcomers won’t know. Perhaps they will think you’re a soccer fan? Foothills sounds more romantic, or maybe it’s because we have a lot of rolling foothills where I live (mountains too) and I imagine you out there farming and planting. Haven’t you talked about that? Coming in from the fields?

dgg

Like Lefty, I still read Baggs. I like to read his take on things. I like reading Alex more, and Dan and Carl. But I don’t feel the need to run Baggs down just because I think this blog is better with Alex at the helm.

Walter Guest

Responding to Footy

Yeah, Galindo, he of the lifetime (700 AB’s) 249 average (211 this year) is playing centerfield. And they are grooming him to play at what level? You think he might make it to triple A?

And the real prospect, who won’t make it as a corner outfielder, is playing corner outfield.

Go figure.

Foothills Ryan

Thank you dgg. Correction made. I’m off to run into the fields, check out the cows before heading out to work in town.

Footy sounds like I have stinky toe-jam feet or something.

pacman68

Gotta take the series against the Reds. They always seem to be a thorn in our side. This team is playing very good baseball. Nice to see Crawford come around and get some hits the last couple days.

MVP of the team so far.

ARIAS – his average is awful but the guy saved out whole infield by being able to play anywhere.

Slide Dog

Footy, ‘nocturnal emissions’ +++++

Bapah

Stinky toe-jam feet,

Yes, Foothills does have a slightly more sophisticated ring to it. Perhaps Foot, or Foo, is a better diminutive for you. I’m sure we’ll come up with something slightly less nauseating than Stinky Toe-jam Feet, though.

Bapah

Come to think of it, Stinky Toe-jam Feet is a perfect baseball handle.

2holehitting

@foothills aka footy

Votto is over rated, but I would trade for him at first if he di dnot have the contract and I also voted for him for the all star game.

Of teams he has played against, his performance is the second worst against the giants for any tream played more than 10 games.Atlanta is his owrst. He has a 288 batting average and a 44 slugging percentage.

His splits home and away at Pack Bell are almost identical.

Iwould not worry to much about a career 280 hitter that homers once in every 37 at bats against the Giants pitching

Against Cain he hits 263 with a 316 slugging
Against Bumgarner 375 and 750 (only 8 at bats sample)
Against Zito he hits 200 with a 200 slugging percentage

Zito has ownage on him…

Keep’n It Real

Not intending on breaking up the good vibe, but I’m not in favor of Sanchez continuing to catch Timmy *if* it’s at the expense of BB9 plate appearances. If he does catch Timmy, I want (as mentioned on KNBR) Posey catching Zito…so BB9 gets his ABs.

I have a hard time with Timmy’s perceived dependency on specific catchers anyway, but no player should have the ability to alter an All-Star Catcher’s assignments behind the plate and affect the hitting growth of a very promising 1B.

Huge #55 fan…but whether it’s his request or Bochy’s lineup decisions…this catching deal comes off as a bit diva-ish to me and that’s not what I feel this Giants team is all about.

Just my $0.02

BallZach

Called it twice on this blog. Giants will catch the putrid blues before the AS break. Now it’s time for our boys to run with it!

2holehitting

keepn it real

It is all in timmies head and work ethics. After losing the slug as a cathcer and getting Posey in 2010, Tim had one of his worst stretches in August. No one blamed Posey rather his conditioning. In Sept and through the playoffs with Posey lights out.

Posey is not the issue, neither amd Sanchez is not his savior. I seem to remember Tim had a decent ERA with Whiteside as well. Tim is the problem when Tim has issues that only Tim can resolve. Sanchez appears to have a bright future in the bigs. He can hit for a catcher and that is why they kept him and not Eli. They saw needing to sit posey almost 1/3 the season.

Foothills Ryan

Whoa,

Calling Joey Votto overrated is really sticking your neck out there. Are you sure you want to be open to ridicule?

you caught the part about Votto walking 60 times, with 32 doubles, and 14 HRs, right? 32 doubles sounds like a nice season, we’re not even half-way.

Keep’n It Real

@2holehitting

I agree it’s in Timmy’s head, but does Bochy enable him?

It’s almost like Timmy should go see a Sports Psychologist.

I’m thinking playoffs and WS…so Timmy needs to learn to play with Posey again.

On the bright side, it’s nice to think about playoffs and WS

Bochy’s Thunderskull

Is there a mobile version of this blog? TIA.

Slide Dog

Some comments above about 2010 lightning in a bottle. I never saw it that way ’cause there were some veterans, Renteria and Burrell in particular who’d been there and done-that. Seemed to me that having players like that around made it easy for everyone believe they were ‘good enough’, and they were.

In 2012 we don’t really have those veterans, but there are some home grown players now, who’ve been there and done that … Cain, Posey, Timmy, Afeldt. Would be nice to see one or more of those guys step up as leaders. We’ve got Theriot, he’s shown some of that. Would really like Posey to be more vocal / emotional. Maybe seeing himself at the All Star game starting, catching Cainer’ll flip a switch!

Just need some of those ‘pixie-dust’ pieces, and 2012 could be another special year!

Lefty

On the catchers & Timmy:

Timmy did NOT do well with Whiteside. Stewart very quickly became Lincecum’s personal catcher when he had three putrid starts with Eli after Buster was injured. Stewart is now CC Sabathia’s personal catcher, but I don’t think he had anything to do with the Spider-Man thing. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google “CC Sabathia” and “Spider-Man.” Hilarious.)

Timmy has had tremendous previous success with Buster and absolutely WILL again. If the Giants are in the postseason, Buster will catch every inning just like he did in 2010 unless his ankle is troubling him.

Given that Timmy seems to be awful to catch–did you see how beat up poor Hector was by the eighth inning?–and we’ve commented before on the toll Timmy’s starts take on Buster–I think it’s really, really good if he gets comfortable with both of them.

I haven’t heard anything that suggests Timmy is a “diva” about this, but I have heard that everyone (including Buster) thinks he’s a bear to catch. So whatever “adjustments” need to happen when Timmy throws to a different catcher may be more about the catcher than Timmy himself.

Matthew

Lefty… You set an amazing example for all of us, given your late night posts followed up by early AM…epic…

Thanks for the Torres trifecta… My favorite was “Thanks God” … What a true, genuine great guy. Always at the top step of the dugout to congratulate teammates, always thankful for the opportunity…

He was another of the many heroes from 2010, and as we have all been saying, this team appears to have a similar mix/chemistry…that doesn’t mean it will finish the same, but it certainly gives us hope that it can… Which I never felt last season

Jstreet

This who’s gonna catch Timmy thing is a non-issue, completely fanned by the busybodies on this blog. Many have pointed out that Posey was probably only squatting for more than about 2/3 of the games this year, maybe more if health permitted. He referred to the ankle after the Oakland game as cranky. They will rest him from behind the plate as needed. This is a valuable commodity coming off a season ending injury. Look ahead to August and Sept, you want him functional. The unintended bonus is major league learning curve acceleration for for Hector. The main reason he took Belt’s precious ABs yesterday can be found by looking up his stats against Billingsley. Think of a new issue with some substance to moan about.

Isn’t 3 shutouts in a row against the Dodgers something to get jacked up over? I’ll bet the young favorite Belt is stoked, cause he’s a team player. This is something that made baseball history.

pacman68

Steve Carlton and Greg Maddux had their own personal catcher. It’s not that big of deal. If Timmy feels comfortable with Hector. Let Hector catch him. I would rather have a great Timmy then Belt at first base. Belt will be in their almost everyday. It’s not that big of deal.

Andrew

Affeldt is not a home-grown Giants player

Keep’n It Real

@Lefty

Hi Lefty!

Just to be clear, I said this catching thing “COMES OFF as Diva-ish”…whether it’s his request or Bochy’s actions.

I haven’t heard anything either, but when an All-Star pitcher “needs” to have a personal catcher (even if it’s in his head), that has “high-maintenance” written all over it; hence the use of Diva-ish. Cain, Vogey, and MadBum certainly haven’t needed a personal catcher; especially with a Buster Posey on the roster.

I agree with you that Timmy should have success with Buster again.

Your mention about Timmy beating up Hector (and Buster in previous starts) is why I don’t see Timmy being all-the-way back. Once the Giants remove the airport-like kiosk for life insurance out of their dugout (placed there for anyone catching Timmy that day), then I will know they even feel he’s back

Keep’n It Real

BTW…just because we’re discussing the Timmy/Sanchez deal doesn’t mean there isn’t euphoria about the sweep. In my fake New York accent, “We’re just talk’in here!”

Slide Dog

True that on Afeldt, much more like Theriot, having been to the WS with the Rockies in 2007, 10+ years in the league. Maybe it’s his time, he’s clearly a bright, passionate guy … lead on.

Foothills Ryan

Agreed about the catching non-issue. Mountains out of mole-hills people.

I guess Pagan batting fifth is a mole-hill as well. Batting order effects are almost negligible, especially after the fifth hitter. I’d still like to see this during the Reds series:

Blanco
Theriot
Cabrera
Posey
Sandoval
Belt
Pagan
Crawford
Pitcher

… Pagan & Theriot should be flip-flopped, but I know Bochy will not remove Ryan from a spot he looks very comfortable in . And that’s okay.

Foothills Ryan

In pro-sports , it’s okay to catch lightning in a bottle. Championship teams are either juggernaut dynasties or lighting catchers who happen to capture it in a bottle and sell it to their fans at dynamic rates.

The Giants are positioned to catch lightning in a bottle again. Which might nudge them towards dynasty status if they keep it up year after year. Pretty much whoever comes out of the NL will be facing superior talent in the WS. But the team that plays best over that 7 game series will win, regardless of perceived talent.

Slide Dog

I might flip Belt / Pagan in that order. Belt’s a more disciplined hitter than Pagan, and you’re not likely to get pitched to with Crawford on deck. Pagan can also be a good ‘rabbit’ for Belt to move around with extra base power. Believe Belt was at #7 when he caught fire lately to boot.

Keep’n It Real

@Foothills Ryan

“Pretty much whoever comes out of the NL will be facing superior talent in the WS. But the team that plays best over that 7 game series will win, regardless of perceived talent.”

As we all know…”Good pitching beats good hitting” and if Timmy is “on”, I would argue the Giants have the best staff in baseball. It was driving me crazy to watch last year’s playoffs…and the inferior (to the Giants) pitching staffs.

Nate’sFanMom

Last time SF played Cincy, the Giants were riding high having had a great series in NY.

Then SF not only got trashed in Cincy, but seemed hexed and went into a team-wide slump. Maybe it was their ballpark with its hitter-friendly dimensions.

Either way, it’s time to get revenge.

Jstreet

Gawk, I mean twauk amongst yourselves. But try to gawk at something real.

http://seagullsintheoutfield.wordpress.com/ Seagulls in the Outfield

The Dodgers have 125 consecutive trips to the plate without scoring a run. Booya!

Skweezplay

RE: lightning in a bottle

Look no further than the Stanley Cup champion LA Kings. Played mediocre throughout the season, scrambled to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the West, then absolutely crushed every other team, starting with the No. 1 seed.

The Giants’ 2010 run was similar. Clinched on the last day of the season and never faced an elimination game in the playoffs or WS.

Skweezplay

I am so stoked about the sweep of the Dodgers I can’t even believe it! Trying not to get cocky but the temptation is to get drunk on the recent success. Still a long way to go, and these last 10 games of the first half are against strong opponents. This will be a great test to see what we really have here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OfvG9eTWJA ClutchUp

Lasorda was seen in North Beach at Txoko, formerly Enrico’s during the series but “Hawkeye Bruce Lee” was also seen following Tommy to his limo afterwards.

Tommy was none to pleased as Bruce was seen dive bombing the windshield.

The Kings rode a hot goalie, a tried and true formula. Baseball’s a little more complex, with more moving parts. Interesting to think of the WS where one player, game after game, dominates. Maybe Jeter in 2000, Lolich in 1968 (look it up!), Gibson in 1967. There are iconic moments like Gibson’s HR, or Pudge for Boston, but domination … I’d vote for Gibson, he was a beast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OfvG9eTWJA ClutchUp

Cincy has always played “us” tough at their place. There are several keys but their right handed hitters balls can, might, will (hope not) leave the yard in straight away left field very similar to the way Uggla loves to hit here, or a Willingham-type RH slugger.

Dusty was/is a master at teaching to look for and take advantage of mistake pitchers. Madison has ONLY scratched a tiny bit of his baseball ceiling of potential thus is PRONE to throw too many balls over the heart of the strike zone.

He needs to throw “hard-low and in” – “Hard-Up-and-In” (change the eyes sight level) and “Soft-Stuff-Away”…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OfvG9eTWJA ClutchUp

Since I never liked Mitch Williams and did like the Eck, I think Joe Carter’s HR is right up their with Gibsons.

I don’t think “our” Bruce Lee is even around anymore. There was talk back in May (?) that he hadn’t been seen for about a week and there has been zero noticeable reduction in the amount of gulls coming around towards the end of the game.

If Bruce “flew the coup” (yuk, yuk), the Giants ownership should get off their “golden egg” and hire a darn falconer to eliminate what I perceive as the only real negative thing about AT&T Park.

I wish this topic would come up when KNBR talks to Larry Baer on the radio.

Bapah

Both Clutch and Pac,

I understand the occasional lapse, but several times on one thread will have you in front of the blackboard after class.

3rdKing

personal catchers are heresay…we don’t need them…

Pagan/Lucifer is the man, got a feeling Melky isn’t gonna stay, hopefully pagan/blanco can be signed….

if melky leaves more belt in left, posey at first, sanchez at catcher…

Go Giants……best staff on the planet

3rdKing

don’t worry about Belt sitting, he’ll play

he is going to be the friggin man

3rdKing

one more world series win fellas,

we need to be a VAUNTED ALL TIME STAFF

3rdKing

Timmy’s success has nothing to do with anything, forces bigger then us all

I, for one, am in favor of pitcher/catcher combinations. This is such a superstitious sport and the game is 90% mental, especially for a pitcher. So if he thinks he is going to pitch better with a certain catcher, I say humor him, as long as it works. But I’m sure statistically, there isn’t much to back up the success of those arrangements. A good catcher is a good catcher

stickman

Seems like every series is crucial. When you are halfway in the catbird seat things do look a bit less moment to moment critical. Johnny Cueto for the Reds tonight. He and Vogie are one point apart in ERA, but tonight its Bumgarner, not the Bulldog, facing the heavy hitting Reds. With their ace going tonight and some solid RH bats, this one is the best chance for a Cincinnati win. In spite of our three shutouts against a hobbled Dogs LU, i’d rate Reds likely to win this one at about a 53-47 probability ratio, mainly based on the fact that Bumgarner has slipped a bit lately.

Tomorrow’s game, with Cain on the mound, looks something like 61-39 probability of a Giants win. Think it’s Leake for the Reds, but even Cueto would be hard put to top our Horse.

Game three features Zito. Will it be the good or the bad Barry? Facing a good lineup, it could be a fireworks display by both sets of batters ~ Reds clout vs Giants OBP and speed. This one looks to be a tricky call. I’ll lay off on laying out probable odds.

Sunday’s contest features Brandon Arroyo, who missed a no-no the other night, vs Vogelsong. Vogie is tough as nails. Probability Giants at 57-43. Chances of a Reds series sweep? About 7% probability. Odds of Reds going 3-1 ~ maybe 30%. Series split ~ 44%. Giants 3-1 ~52%. Giants sweep ~ 17%. So mostly this series hinges on the Saturday game. Good Barry Saturday and October looks quite bright. Split at home ~ kiss your not very pretty sister.

Wild Card in this series is Bumgarner. If lefty Madison can quell the Reds secondary RH sluggers and paint the black vs Votto chances are excellent the Giants go 3-1 in the series and fair to partly middling we get a sweep.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

I mentioned this guy being new on the Cuban scene this week. He’s a Dodger now.

The agreement is pending a physical exam, and would be the largest dollar figure accorded a Cuban defector, surpassing the four-year, $36 million deal of Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Céspedes in February.”

Good Bum … or bad Bum. Mad Bum is good Bum, get mad, stay mad, no sad Bum, dad-gum.

dgg

Baggs posted a story titled: “Who should catch Lincecum next?” It’s interesting to read. Baggs reports that “it doesn’t seem to matter” to Tim who is catching him, because he views his struggles as having to do with himself. Tim said: “I’ve just been trying to eliminate any kind of doubt I had, even leading up to whether it would be Sanchez catching or not. I was just trying to eliminate negatives and get back to throwing strikes and just compete out there.”

In addition, Tim knows he can be tough on catchers. This is what he said about Sanchez in yesterday’s game: “He did an outstanding job back there. I know I threw a lot of balls in the dirt to beat the crap out of him, but he still stuck with it and stuck with me.”

In the spring, it didn’t look to me like Sanchez could handle Lincecum. I’m really glad this is not the case now, because in my opinion, it’s better to have two catchers capable of catching Tim rather than just one.

Lefty

Matthew: Thanks, but I don’t think I was posting THAT late. I was in bed by 10:30! With no game last night and all psyched up over the win, I definitely was pretty active, though.

I loved that about Torres, too–him always first out of the dugout to congratulate his teammates. If you look at any big highlight from 2010-11, you’ll see him, and it’s the same this year with the Mets. Angel and Blanco both seem to have that way about them, but they’re
a bit more serious. Torres always had a huge smile and seemed so joyous.

KIR: No doubt Tim IS high-maintenance. He’s like a high-strung racehorse. They can run very fast and make you lots of money, but if any little thing is “off,” then they’re off, too. Pretty fun to watch them win the Kentucky Derby, though, poetry in motion. Or Game 5 of the World Series!

Cain is the workhorse, and Bum is becoming the lefthanded version of him. I smile every time I remember that Cain signed a long term deal to stay with the Giants. I don’t think I realized how long I’ve been dreading, every time Cain got a no-decision or lost 2-1, that he’d leave us and we’d be watching him in pinstripes or (shudder) Dodger blue. No more!

Seagulls: Yogi: 50% of the game is 90% mental. For what it’s worth Javy Lopez was a caddy for you know who but in 2012 with guys like Raggs and Gardy mentoring this mostly young staff. I look at it differently.

Hector knows how to please and is a good catcher, but to be a good catcher one has to be not a good ball blocker but an excellent one.

I don’t think as an old catcher that Bochy will lock in anything of significants *either* way. Molina, Posey, Whiteside, Stewart and Sanchez have all SPOILED this staff at various times per Sergio today on KNBR.

As Mavo has reminded us, just being mad for no reason at all or better yet NOT channel a mental beef into a productive structured on the field moment ususally leads a player to be either to high or to low mentally and the game can not be played well from that point of view (imo)

Keith Law’s (ESPN) take on the Dodgers signing of Puig. I hope he’s right.

Based on what I’ve heard about Puig, this is a bizarre overreaction to the upcoming international spending cap, and a huge bet that, despite a stiff swing and less athletic body than Soler, Puig’s bat is good enough to justify an investment of this size. I’ve also heard that Puig was badly out of shape in his recent workouts in Mexico, and that his throwing arm is not as strong since it was last seen in games. And unlike Soler or Cespedes, Puig barely has played in games outside of Cuba, so major league scouts have not had much of an opportunity to evaluate him properly.

michael

Don’t know if anyone has posted this, but saw a funny posting after an article from yesterday’s game. Paraphrasing, but said that today’s Mets game at the Dodgers was in danger of being cancelled since the Dodgers hadn’t found home in 34 innings……..

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

Just looking at the BAs, the Reds and the Giants are almost identical, .271 to .269 with the Reds having the edge. Using Votto as a test case, all his longballs are to LCF or dead CF, not fertile ground at AT&T. If Bumgarner’s cutter is good, this could be a long day for Votto types. Add that to a Great America Park Factor of 1.094 to AT&Ts 0.631, and this could be a very close series.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

KIR,

good points. I heard that no one in the Dodger org. had ever seen Puig play before and oddly, he’s supposed to depend on speed for a lot of his game. He hit 1/2 the HR of Cespedes. So, given Cuba is AA+ ball, and Cespedes is hitting .250ish, it sounds like the Dodgers are more desperate than wise with this contract.

CC: I doubt the Giants would trade for him. He practically makes more than our whole outfield combined and is 4 years older than our oldest outfielder. He’s having an off year, and when you are 33, one has to worry that an off year is the beginning of the end.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

Seagulls,

same $$ as Huff, and they did that. He’s a satisfactory 2B and RF on top of that. Besides, if the Rockies are unloading salary, it means the infamous ‘player to be named later’ if anything in trade. Salary goes away. Any idea what a 2nd trip/win to the WS means in merchandizing? It just depends, IMO, what Sabean sees in the tank. Cuddyer is trying to be a power hitter in Colorado now, and that’s just not his game.

ClutchUp

CC: Cuddyers plate/strike zone discipline @ 33 would become death at PacBell Ball Park and Sabes takes prescription meds now that keeps him off the shelves of 33 year olds. Back when I liked Kubel but he’s another LH guy. Not really too many RH hitters with power who know HOW to hit at PacBell. The ones that do get the bat head out early providing the get the pitch to do it on etc. Guys like Kinsler, Uggla, Willingham, Stanton, Freeman, Hart, Trout, Goldschmidt have NO issues hitting HR’s at our yard but they know what to do with their swing paths. When Jeff Kent got an middle in pitch one did not have to wait to see where it was going to come down. McGwire the same, on or off the flaxseed stuff.

ClutchUp

This is why kids of any color are possibly turning to other sports. Here is a 12-13 yr old whose parents should have kept in under wraps and let him be a kid. But nope 24/7/365 LL and youth ball kids are being pushed out front, especially some of the kids that arent even close to shaving

Don’t know … there were a couple of kids when I was in 7th-8th grade with a shadow and fuzz under the nose.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

CU,

It’s just a question about Cuddyer, but his numbers at AT&T…

.500/.538/.750/1.288 2009-2011. Those are his best numbers anywhere. Small number of ABs (12), but clearly a trend. This year in 8 ABs he’s had 2 hits, both doubles. He’s having a down year at the Rockies, but still hitting .324 with RISP. Where are Nate, and Burriss on that continuum? I think the old guy argument has some merit, but how much.

I like the first one but, any of these would do. I’ve always liked a guy like Theriot batting 2, but that’s just to extend the lineup, or bunts, hit and runs…we have 6 guys that can hit better than Theriot, we should be getting one of them the extra AB. Also, our platoon at short (Craw .250 vs RHP, Arias .300 vs LHP) gives us a solid lineup top to bottom.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

total,

looks like the A team. Why do I think this comes down to Casilla-Votto in the ninth. When we were in Cincy, it did. That may have been Casilla finest outing as a closer.

Foothills Ryan

Cueto hardly walks anybody. And he lets his defense get outs. He walks less than 2 per 9 and K’s 6.7/9.

Should be a well pitched ballgame. Giants r due to break out vs. Cueto, who has shut us down in the past including outdueling Mad Bum last year 1-0 in a shutout.

Mad Bum has had mix results vs. Reds, but has fared better vs them at home. Bumgarner needs some early zeroes and some early offense from his team to take control of this game early and hand it to our dominant bullpen. 7IP 2 runs or less should get it done for Mad Bum. Hoping for a 4th shutout in a row is pushing it vs this potent Reds offense. But you never know. Pitching is contagious and Giants r firing on all cylinders. Pablo looking for his 1st hr since coming back. Came close last night and he is almost there.

Tim Lincecum’s clone goes tonight for the snakes. Should be interesting to watch.

Slide Dog

… what’s the theory for Pagan is at #5. Not complaining, just interested to know what strategy results in that choice. OBP is around .340 so he’s only average as a duck-on-the-pond for power behind him, but maybe that’s the best we got.

JD4SF

Missed this on twitter …
@JanieMcCAP: Santa Cruz County Sheriff said it “will put out a press release on the Pablo Sandoval case the week of July 2-6.”

JD4SF

Slide Dog -
Pagan tends to get on base … and has the wheels to steal. Pablo followed by Belt can hopefully bring him home.

http://www.fangraphs.com/ channelclemente

JD4SF,

someone said/wrote that if he was going to be, he would be refered for charges today. Wouldn’t custody and bail be immediate after that?

Slide Dog: I didn’t look but am pretty confident it is Belt. He draws enough walks to make up for his lower average. I would expect Crawford to be up there as well

Slide Dog

… correction, Belt’s in the top 5, Pagan is 6, 7 is …

Bapah

Pac, I thought the kid from UCLA, Trevor Bauer, was pitching for them tonight.

JD4SF

CC – safer to wait for the actual decision by the DA regarding if any charges will be made and pursued. This is a high profile investigation, so they’ll want all the ducks in a row before doing anything, one way or the other. Per twitter we should have more information from the authorities next week … whatever that information will be.

Don’t forget that the Dodgers kicked around the baseball & the Giants took advantage of all those mental & physical lapses in Monday’s game

2holehitting

@ foothills

Yes I stated Votto is over rated.

For the past 2 years he homers 1 in every 23 at bats medium power. To me a true threat is 1 in 15. That is a 40 homer + power hitter. But his stats are slanted by playing in a hot ballpark.

Take the guy out of his park and that 14 homers drops massively as has 4 homers in 154 at bats or 1 in 39 plate appearances.

Heck Buster and his paltry 10 homers(9 on the road) is cranking em out at a rate of 1 in every 17 at bats away from home.

Like I stated, put him against good pitching, and he is not a 300 hitter by any stretch of the imagination.

He may have a 350 batting average but historically against the Giants, 288.

Against cain 260
Against Zito 200

That is why he is over rated, he plays in a hot short park that pads his stats, just like Beltran is doing in St. Louis. Take him out of the hot park, production falls dramatically.

http://yAhoo mario

I’m listening to Tolbert and Byrnes on KNBR and I”m so embarrassed for Byrnes. He has no idea what’s going on with the draft just listen to him. Some of his comments are off the wall and I”m sure Tolbert realizes this. I’ll try to be patient with Byrnes but it’s extremely hard with his whiny voice and all. He’s really bad for KNBR. WOW.

http://nutroster.com Vern Grado

if he’s a farmer than they wouldn’t have to pay for them they lay eggs so you can save money on eggs every week or for meat i doubt your parents would eat them though they “fertilize” the soil and keep the insects away